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Called semi-subterranean, archaeologists and anthropologists define pit houses as any non-contiguous building, with floors lower than the ground surface

Dugouts or ssth can be fully recessed into the earth, with a flat roof covered by ground, or dug into a hillside
They can also be semi-recessed, with a constructed wood or sod roof standing out.

They are typically made from materials like sod, stone, wood, and bone
Strengthened with animal skins, rope and other materials.

Semi-subterranean huts were large enough to accommodate extended families, pets, animals, and visitors
They are often connected so their relatives and the rest of the community can visit. Via passageways and tunnels. Allowing for community interaction despite sometimes cold or unpleasent weather.

Check out SSTH and more neolithic architecture. Comfortable year round because the earth acts as an insulating blanket.

Bibliography: Gilman PA. 1987. Architecture as Artifact: Pit Structures and Pueblos in the American Southwest. American Antiquity 52(3):538-564

Wood, James, ed. (1907). “Earth Houses”. The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne

HISTORY: The Secwépemc c7ístkten or winter home – Kamloops this week archive. (2022, July 26). https://archive.kamloopsthisweek.com/2022/07/26/history-the-secwepemc-c7istkten-or-winter-home/

Daifuku H. The Pit House in the Old World and in Native North America. American Antiquity. 1952;18(1):1-7. doi:10.2307/276236